HEAD TEACHER’S REPORT

Welcome to another fine edition of the school magazine which

highlights all the opportunities we provide for our pupils to achieve in

and beyond the classroom. I am grateful to all the staff and pupils

who contribute to the school magazine by organising, participating in or

writing about events in and out of school that involve our pupils. This

is also my first opportunity to greet you as Head Teacher, to say how

proud I am to have been appointed to this position and how much I am

looking forward to leading the school in the months and years to come.

The school marked the retirement of my predecessor Mr Jack

Harland, who was Head Teacher from October 2007 until January

2013, in a number of ways. A staff photograph was commissioned and

framed as a memento of his time as Head Teacher and a cheque

presented to him, along with flowers for his wife Jane, with our good wishes for a happy and

healthy retirement at the staff Christmas lunch. The pupils marked his retirement by raising

money and paying for a cake baked and decorated by the father of Rebecca Wilson in 2 Crathes.

Gifts were also given as thanks and a mark of their esteem by the parent council and many

individuals in gratitude for his support and leadership.

Mr Harland was instrumental in the development of our values which are one of the driving forces

behind our work with young people. They are beautifully illustrated in the wining entry by Sarah

Ross, 3 Drum 2, in our poster competition to promote the BoDA B’s. The poster will be used

throughout the school to encourage young people to:

Be Caring

Be Honest

Be Respectful

Be your best

These values will be further promoted with our new first years when they come for their three day

visit in June. Helping to support pupils in primary 7s in their transition from primary school to

Bridge of Don Academy is now the responsibility of Mr Haggarty who was appointed to the post of

Depute Head Teacher in January. You can read more about the work he has been doing with them

later in this magazine. I have now visited all three of our associated schools – Balmedie, Braehead

and Scotstown and spoken with staff and pupils. We have plans to further improve the transition

process building on what is already working and making changes only when necessary. One of our

plans is for a new style of curriculum evening led by pupils to introduce parents of pupils in P6 and

P7 to the secondary curriculum.

Education is about more than instilling or reinforcing values it is also about developing young

people’s confidence, giving them opportunities to exercise responsibility for themselves and their

work and chances to contribute to the life and work of the school. This will all help them to be

successful academically and to develop the skills they will need to work well with other people, cope

with change, communicate their ideas and form good relationships. We will be doing more work next

session to support the development of these core skills in our young people and involving them more

in discussions about their learning through the development of our pupil support systems.

For pupils moving into senior school - S4, S5 and S6 - education focuses increasingly on getting the

exam passes which open doors to careers, courses and training. We are embarking on a challenging

but exciting time in Scottish education in this respect. Young people moving on to S4 are choosing

the national courses they will be studying and teachers are busy preparing to teach these new

courses for the first time – the additional in-service day in February was provided by the Scottish

Government to support this work. These courses replace Standard Grades and are designed to be

completed in one year: They are offered at different levels. A National 4 is broadly equivalent to a

standard grade at general level but is assessed internally in schools by teachers. A National 5 is

broadly equivalent to a standard grade at credit level and is also assessed internally by teachers

but pupils also sit an external exam marked by the Scottish Qualifications Authority and are

awarded a grade A – D depending on their performance in this examination. Pupils in fourth and

fifth year will also be choosing the Higher, Advanced Higher and Intermediate courses they will be

embarking on in fifth and sixth year. By the time this magazine is issued we will have held our

Information Evening and Careers Evening to support families in this decision making process.

We have also made changes to our broad general education in S1 – S3. This change was driven by

our staff. They noted that to be well prepared to embark on the new national courses pupils need

to experience more of the discrete subjects. As a result all pupils in S3 will study all three

sciences as well as computing and business. Pupils will still be able to personalise their curriculum

and make choices within subjects. For example they will be able to choose a topic when doing

investigations in social studies and make a choice between dance and sport in PE and to choose, with

support from languages staff, the language they study.

One of the strengths of the school is the way that staff, pupils and parents work together to offer

young people high quality experiences in and beyond the classroom. I am delighted by how many of

these we can highlight each month in our magazine. These are also detailed on the website and in

the school prospectus. Many of these activities are offered at lunch times so that our pupils who

travel to and from school on school transport can participate.

As you can see we are already making good progress with our plans for next year. However, I am

keen to seek the views of pupils, parents and staff on how we are doing and what our priorities

should be for the coming months and years. Those of you who have attended parents’ evenings or

the Parent Council meetings will have had the opportunity to complete a questionnaire to give me

your views on a range of issues. If you have not already done so and would like to give me your

views then please contact the school office or click on the link on the school website. We welcome

feedback as a school and particularly value the views of our pupils, staff and parents.

In addition if you have any ideas for the school magazine please let me know so we can celebrate

our pupils’ achievements.

Daphne McWilliam

Head Teacher

CAREERS EVENING 2013

This year was one of the best attended events that we have had in the past five

years. Perhaps this reflects the need young people and their parents have for

information to guide them in the increasingly complex world of higher and further

education and the job market. Whatever the reason there was a real buzz on the

night and the informal feedback from pupils, parents and participants was all very

positive.

This year, for the first time, pupils and their parents from St Machar Academy and

Oldmachar Academy were invited to attend. We are part of a consortium with these

schools in the north of the city and we were delighted to welcome parents, staff and

pupils to join us. Again informal feedback indicated that pupils and their parents

found it very useful.

As always we are grateful to the staff of local and national companies and

organisations who give up their time to provide careers information and advice. As a

very small token of our appreciation we do provide light refreshments for all those in

attendance and are grateful to Mrs Cruickshank and Mrs Rennie from the school

office who stayed on to make sure all our visitors were served with the tea, coffee,

sandwiches and home bakes provided by our school canteen staff. The lists below

demonstrate the number and range of participants

Businesses

Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, British Army

Oldmachar Medical Practice - Occupational Therapist

ITCA Ltd - Training Opportunities

Holiday Inn - Hospitality Industry

Ernst & Young - Financial Services

Grays & Connachie - Estate Agents

Guidance Teacher - Mr Paterson (Careers Advice & Subject choice)

NHS - Scottish Ambulance Service

Next - Retail Sector

Dundas & Wilson - Law Firm

John Lewis - Business Opportunities

Atkins Global - Design, Engineering and Project Management

RICS - Chartered Surveyors

Deloitte - Financial/Corporate Finance

Children’s House - Childcare Trainer

Aberdeen City Council - Environmental Health and Trading Standards

Aberdeen City Council - Human Resources, Aberdeen City Council - Educational Psychology

Universities and Colleges

SRUC - Rural College, Aberdeen College

University of Aberdeen, University of Edinburgh, University of Dundee

Strathclyde University, The Robert Gordon University

Careers Talks

What marks our careers event out as different is the provision of more specialised careers talks

which pupils and their parents can sign up for on the night. We are grateful to all of those who

prepared and delivered a talk.

Skills Development

Scotland

Gillian Shand ‘Help and Guidance in Careers Education for your youngster’ –

for parents only

Next John Jones ‘Working in the Retail Sector’

BODA Rhona Johnston ‘Music Industry and University’

British Computing Society Eilidh Clarkson &

Lewis Yim

‘Careers in IT/Computing’

The Children’s House Edith Todd ‘The Journey to Childhood Practice’

Medicine ‘Getting into Medical School’

Aberdeen College David Brooks Automotive, Construction, Engineering: Electrical,

Engineering: Mechanical

Aberdeen City Council Sharon Robb ‘Getting an Interview right’

Ernst & Young Laura Towler ‘Graduate and School Leaver Programme

BODA Amber MacLeod ‘Getting into Education’

University of Aberdeen James Wright ‘Effective Personal Statements’

Aberdeen College Elaine Makein &

Vicki Frenz

Art Design, Visual Communication and Photography

Aberdeen College June Smith Early Education and Childcare, Nursing and Healthcare

Deloitte Kat Innes & Jake

Bathurst

‘The Brightstart Programme’ - Financial Sector

Aberdeen College John Davidson Hairdressing, Beauty Therapy and Complementary Therapies

Aberdeen College Moyra Cowie or

Trish Swan

Sports and Fitness

FYVIE HOUSE FUND RAISER – A TOUCH OF TARTAN

St Andrews Day saw a Touch of Tartan in the school as Fyvie

raised House funds with our Scottish theme. A welly boot

throwing competition was held in the games hall, face painting in

the canteen, pupils were allowed to wear tartan in class and the

staff were very happy with the saltire themed cakes sold in the

staff centre! Nearly £90 was raised in total. Thanks to all who

participated.

SAFE AND SENSIBLE SOCIAL NETWORKING

Bridge of Don Academy is currently working toward being a certified 360 degree e-safe school.

Further details of this e-safety resource can be found at: www.360safe.org.uk

In progressing to this accreditation we have updated much of our PSE and IT class delivery, in

addition to providing assemblies and Police Liaison Officer visits to offer students advice and

guidelines for use of social networking. The following information is delivered to students from S1

to S6:

- Importance of privacy settings and secure passwords

- Keeping the information you post within the law and school

policies

- How relationships and careers are affected by inappropriate

social networking

- What can be considered internet bullying and how to report it

From a recent assembly coinciding with the national internet safety week, a hands up poll

demonstrated that the vast majority of our students self teach themselves how to use social

networking. Whilst independent learning is an important transferable skill, in the case of social

networking it also brings many potential risks to young people. In school we encourage sensible and

safe social networking use, but still each week we get reports from pupils, parents and staff of

inappropriate behaviour taking place on-line.

Please could we ask that you discuss with your children the impact of sites such as Facebook,

Twitter, Youtube, Instagram and in particular the much publicised Ask.fm. We also recommend that

parents take an interest in the activities that their children are involved in when using the

computer and their messages/photographs on their mobile telephone.

Please find advice and further information at the following websites:

http://www.swgfl.org.uk/Staying-Safe/Content/Resources/Parents_guide_to_social-

networking_websites

http://promos.mcafee.com/en-US/PDF/SocialNetworkinge-guide.pdf

P7 VISIT – 4, 5 & 6 FEBRUARY 2013

P7 pupils from Scotstown, Balmedie & Braehead primary schools visited us in February and spent

time in four different departments - English, P.E., Home Economics and Science. This year the visit

was themed around 'Energy' - how much energy we need every day, where we get this energy from,

how much we need and the different ways we are able to use it.

In the Science Dept the pupils used science equipment to measure mass, volume and temperature

and learned how to use a Bunsen burner. They then looked at how these basic skills can be combined

to allow us to measure the energy content of different foods, important when we are planning a

healthy diet.

Pupils visited the Home Economics department to continue the theme on energy. The pupils made

French toast to emphasise the importance of breakfast but also to experience cooking in the school

kitchen. At the end of the lesson they ate the toast and their enthusiasm and interest in the lesson

was shown by the empty plates!

In Physical Education pupils played non-stop basketball. This continued the theme of ‘Energy’ as

much was needed!

In English pupils worked in groups to discuss what they had learned. Pupils had an enjoyable time

and are looking forward totheir three day visit in June.

ENTIÉR APPRENTICESHIP AWARDS

Entiér Aberdeen’s premier catering and support services company run an apprenticeship award for

pupils who will be leaving school at the end of 4th year and who would be looking to seek employment

in the hospitality industry. This opportunity is to work within Entiér on a controlled learning

programme which includes SVQs for a period of 3 years with a view to gaining full time work after

the apprenticeship period.

Chef Robert Bruce from Entiér visited the Hospitality: Intermediate 1 class to demonstrate skills

and give advice which will be required when the pupils prepare a Chicken stir fry. The chef will

choose 2 pupils to go forward to the final in April.

LAB IN A LORRY

In January we were lucky enough to have a two day visit

from the 'Lab in a Lorry', sponsored by the Institute of

Physics. They braved the cold and the snow to reach us

and the visit gave all our S2 science pupils the

opportunity to explore aspects of Physics with three

different interactive experiments. The experiments were

based on drilling for oil, the power of sound waves and

digital cameras.

In their reports written afterwards in English here are

some things they said:

"I really enjoyed the sound experiment, we all got involved in the experiment" "It was way better than sitting in a classroom and writing stuff down, I loved it!" "I didn't like it, I loved it. I got to hold a fossil for the first time" "I was busting with excitement because I love science" "I wish we had been able to do all 3 experiments"

"It was fun, I hope they come again"

A great experience for staff and pupils - yes, hope

they do come again!

YOUNG ENTERPRISE

Our companies, Milas and Infinity

Candles, have continued to have a busy

year promoting their products. As well

as the various Fairs they attended,

including our own very successful

Christmas Fayre, they have set up stall

at the different Parents Nights and a

lunchtime event in the dining hall.

Some company members recently

completed the University of

Strathclyde Young Enterprise exam and

both teams are now busy writing their

business reports and completing end of

year accounts with the help of their

Business Adviser.

CEILIDH

The annual ceilidh took place on the last day of term – 21 December 2012. Pupils had been learning

social dances in PE and then had the chance to practice their new skills. This year we were

delighted to have a live band for the first time. Cameron Taylor and Peter Fairhurst both in S5

recruited the services of a friend, Peter Lesley to join them. The last day of term was also a fund

raising dress as you please day.

CHRISTMAS FAYRE

Our first ever Christmas Fayre was held on Monday 26 November. There were over 30 stalls to

choose from including a number of local artists, Sophie's Heavenly Fudge, Body Shop, Bijoux Angel

(jewellery), Partylite Candles, Kardznmore, KAGA Gifts, Avon, Hannah Bakes Cakes, Scholastic

Books, Time for Books, Select A Sweet, Infinity Candles, Milis Confectionery, Scentsy and many

more!

Excellent entertainment was provided by the school choir throughout the whole evening.

Refreshments were provided by our S3 pupils who made mince pies and shortbread during their

Home Economics classes in order to sell on the evening.

The evening was a great success and raised over £1,000 for school funds. Well done to everyone

involved.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD FUND RAISING

by Brian Willox

Our Duke of Edinburgh’s Award group has

started and training is underway.

Not only does the DofE Award help participants

to develop and learn new skills, responsibility

and endurance but it is also very rewarding and,

of course, fun.

We have written to a number of companies asking for support. SETS Ltd (based in Newmachar)

made a donation of £300 towards buying equipment to help take some of the financial burden off of

the youngsters taking part.

SETS Ltd’s HR Advisor, Ms Ally Stachan, came into Bridge of Don Academy to present the cheque.

We also received a cheque from Sterling Furniture (based

on Denmore Road, Bridge of Don) for £230. Carol

Cameron, the HR Manager said, “As a recruiter I consider

that DofE gives applicants an advantage. On the CV it

shows that the applicant is prepared to do more – to push

themselves – a bit of commitment. All of which are

excellent qualities from an employer’s point of view.”

APPEAL

We are trying to raise funds to buy equipment and all donations are welcome. However, we are also

in need of equipment. Do you have any of the items below lying around that you could donate to the

school?

Tents Tent repair kits Rucksacks (65 litres)

Tent pegs Map cases Rucksack rain covers

Whistles Head torches Compasses

Ground sheets (tarpaulins) Waterproof trousers Waterproof jackets

Ordinance Survey Maps Sleeping bag liners Rucksack / luggage straps

Camping cutlery Camping plates, bowls &mugs “Trangia” stoves

If so then all donations will be gratefully received by Mr Willox in room F15.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S AWARD TRAINING

by Brian Willox

We have 41 participants undertaking the Duke of

Edinburgh’s Award program this year. To make sure

that they are prepared for their first expedition we

run training sessions after school on Wednesdays.

In training session one we looked briefly at the

expectations of the Award, map reading and first aid.

In training session two participants got a chance to see the equipment that they will need for the

expedition and we discussed the sort of food that they should take with them.

Training session 3 was all about map reading and navigation. Participants were given Ordinance

Survey maps of the Glen Tannar area (OS Landranger 44) and asked to find certain points suing map

references and navigate a journey from on place to a specific point on the map.

THE BODA BS

The BODA Bs are the values which the whole school agreed best represented the standards which

we hold at Bridge of Don Academy.

Be: Honest

Be: Respectful

Be: Caring

Be: Your Best

As a school, we felt it important that all pupils, staff and the wider

community in Bridge of Don were familiar with the values of the school.

As a result, the Student Council launched the BODA Bs poster

competition before Christmas. The entries were of an excellent quality

and were judged by the Student Council members from S1 to S6.

The winning poster was designed by Sarah Ross in S3 and the school are delighted with the result.

Hopefully Sarah was delighted with her Union Square voucher.

Sarah’s design will be used in a number of ways:

As a poster in classrooms around the school

As reward stickers, magnets and rulers

As the cover of next year’s planners

Congratulations Sarah and thank you for an exceptional poster.

DEBATING

Debating at Bridge of Don is a lively, thriving activity with a good number of regular

debaters from all year groups attending on a Friday after school.

Debates are run according to parliamentary debating rules as follows:

The debate focuses on a Motion (a suggested opinion about a particular topic), e.g. “This

House would reduce the voting age to 16”. The group split into teams which either propose

or oppose the motion. They usually have no choice in which side they argue for.

Speeches last for 3 minutes. The first and the last 30 seconds are “protected time”,

during which the speaker may not be interrupted. The middle 2 minutes may be

interrupted by the opposing side when they may offer a “point of information”. This may

be either accepted or rejected by the speaker.

The first proposer (first prop.) defines the motion and puts forward his key points in

favour. The first opposer (first opp.) rebuts one or two of the first proposer’s arguments

and proceeds to his own points against the motion. The second prop continues by rebutting

points made by the first opp and introducing more arguments in support. This pattern

continues until the fourth opp sums up the debate, highlighting points of clash.

Each week the side which have shown the best debating skills win the debate and there is

also a “best speaker” who may be from either side of the house.

This term we have debated the following motions:

This House would eat any animal.

This House would legalise gay marriage.

This House believes in God

This House would make sex education compulsory.

Pupils from all year groups are most welcome to come along and take part, or just watch

the debate. After the debate, if there is an audience, the motion is opened up to the

floor, so anyone can make a point on the motion.

If you enjoy a good argument, please come to F12 on Friday from 3.00 -4.00 pm.

Mrs Anderson, Mr Warrender, Jess Anderson (University debating club)

STUDENT COUNCIL

The Student council have had a very busy term, with fortnightly meetings to raise student issues

and plan future events such as assemblies, competitions. We are introducing suggestion boxes

which will be available to all pupils so that they can have their say without having to find a council

member. We will also occasionally seek views by having a “Question of the week”. We hope that

pupils will respond to this by raising concerns and offering solutions to current problems in school.

We have two members who attend the Aberdeen Pupil Voice meetings – a city-wide student council

with members from all secondary schools in Aberdeen. They are engaged in a number of projects

which seek to improve the pupils’ experience in schools across the city, e.g. the Equality group are

examining the issue of discrimination as it relates to minority groups in school. One group are

working on improving communication between teachers across the city and another is focusing on

improving links between schools and Universities/Colleges/Apprenticeship schemes.

Further council projects are also on the horizon.

Members from the Student Council were involved in the selection process for the recently

appointed Deputy Head teacher – Mr D Haggarty, and for the recently appointed Head teacher –

Mrs D McWilliam. We were praised by Anne Darling, the Quality Improvement Officer for our

professional approach to the interview and for our insightful questions.

Just before the Christmas Holidays, we invited Mr Harland and

Mrs McWilliam to attend our Student Council meeting so we

could say our final farewells to Mr Harland. Liam Moore in S4

who is completing Hospitality Int 1, baked a magnificent cake

for Mr Harland to wish him a very happy retirement. As you

can see – a very professional (and delicious) job! It didn’t last

for long. The council would like to thank Mr Harland for

encouraging us to take responsibility ourselves for making

changes in the school.

Mrs McWilliam, our new head teacher, has asked us to get

involved in developing the Homework policy in school and we are

working on a questionnaire to be put out to all pupils. She is

also keeping us busy by seeking out our views on how pupils

believe the school is doing. This will be an interesting project

where pupils can really contribute to the school’s plans for the

future.

As always, we encourage all pupils to make their views known to the Student Council – don’t sit there

moaning, tell us how to make things better!

YOUR SCHOOL – YOUR SAY

BRIDGE OF DON ACADEMY GARDEN PROJECT

By Mrs Anderson

Our Garden Project has started after many years in the thinking. Alan Carter a local landscaper

has begun work on the layout and first planting in the garden. This is an exciting project which will

incorporate a vegetable plot, a meditation area and a picnic area planted with trees. Future plans

include a bird feeding area/wildlife garden and possibly an outdoor classroom. Pupils applied for

funding for the project and we have received a Youth Grant of £1,500 which will enable us to

provide resources for subjects and provide more seating and bins around the garden.

It is hoped that pupils will see that this garden is for them to relax and to work in together. We

are forming a gardening club with both pupils and staff who will take overall responsibility for the

general maintenance of the garden and for making plans for the future, taking the requirements of

subjects into consideration. It is hoped that parents and members of the local community may also

want to become involved.

The aims of the garden are:

1. To work together to provide a beautiful, stimulating, safe garden for pupils, staff and the local

community in which to work and learn, relax and socialise.

2. To deliver Experiences and Outcomes within many curricular areas with a view to possibly delivering

National 3/4 Environmental Science in the future.

3. To provide a haven for wildlife – insects, birds, hedgehogs, etc.

4. To provide a quiet meditation area suitable for reflection, meditation and prayer.

5. To develop the garden using organic principles in order to prevent contamination of soil and

detrimental effects on other organisms and to promote good health.

6. To provide some organic produce – vegetables and herbs - for use in Home Economics.

7. To plant using indigenous plants which attract wildlife in order to promote and sustain biodiversity.

8. To improve relationships and strengthen community links between Bridge of Don Academy pupils and

the local community by involving local gardeners in the maintenance of the garden and in working with

pupils to ensure local gardening knowledge is passed on to the next generation within Bridge of Don.

9. To develop curricular links with local primary schools and encourage Academy pupils to work with

primary pupils.

Of course – it may take us some time to get there, but we have taken the first step. An exciting

year is in prospect for the green-fingered. If you are interested, get in touch with Mrs Anderson

(RMPS).

Hi there! Did you know that as a Guide, former Guide, Leader or Young Leader aged 14 to 25 you are eligible to join a Senior Section unit? No? Well read on! The Senior Section is a flexible, fun programme open to young women from their 14th birthday until their 26th birthday. There are a number of ways you can be involved and the opportunities are immense, from international volunteering to improving your CV. As part of our new Senior Section unit, you will have the chance to:

Complete challenging awards and qualifications like the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, Chief Guide’s Challenge, Queen’s Guide Award and Young Leader or Adult Leadership Qualification

Take part in local, national and international camps and events

Become an In4mer and educate each other about important topics like media awareness and stress management

Participate in Polaris events and have your voice heard at a national level

Take part in community action projects

Complete some fun challenge badges – from Sweetastic to the Campfire Challenge, there’s something for everyone!

We’ll also be working through Look Wider, which is a programme that has been designed exclusively for Senior Section members. The programme is split into eight octants, including creativity, independent living and personal values, and aims to encourage you to develop new skills and to improve existing ones while having loads of fun at the same time! There are so many opportunities open to you as a Senior Section member that we just can’t go into all the detail here – you’ll find more information though on the Senior Section website at http://www.girlguiding.org.uk/seniorsection. It’s your programme so it’s up to you to decide what you want to work on and when – our unit meetings and trips will also all be based on what you want to do or get up to! Please contact us on our email address for more information! firstparkwayseniorsection@hotmail.co.uk

Hi! Are you a female aged 14 to 25? Away to leave Guides or volunteering as a leader? Then First Parkway Senior

Section wants YOU!

We are a new SS unit covering the Bridge of Don area. We are going to take on challenges, try new things and have lots

and lots of fun!

We welcome Guides who are moving up and people who want to try something new!

Any questions?

Contact us at: firstparkwayseniorsection@hotmail.co.uk

Keelan Holland from 4C2

In the photo he was receiving two Awards at his Sea Cadets from the Lord Provost. He is also

looking forward to joining the Tall Ships during the Easter Holidays.

SIMPLY THANK YOU!

In December Natalie Ho, 5F won the Simply Thank You Award from the

Voluntary Service Aberdeen (VSA). The Simply Thank You Award

recognises the efforts put in by young carers in the City as they care for

a family member. Natalie has spent her life caring for her disabled twin

sister Sammy. Natalie is a kind, caring and committed sister.

Ex Lord Provost John Reynolds chose Natalie from a number of deserving

young carers. Natalie received a certificate and £100 worth of vouchers.

This Award was thoroughly deserved, well done Natalie!

DONATION FROM BRIDGE OF DON BADMINTON CLUB

The Bridge of Don Badminton Club has for many years used the facilities at both

Oldmachar Academy (junior badminton section) and Bridge of Don Academy (adult badminton

section). Unfortunately the Club has been disbanded and as a result they have donated funds left

over in their accounts to both schools and Bridge of Don Academy were fortunate to receive a

cheque for £350.00. So, the pupils of Bridge of Don Academy would like to say a big thank you to

the former members of the Bridge of Don Badminton Club for their kind gesture.

DONATION FROM KARDZNMORE

Kardznmore had a stall at the Christmas Fayre and due to the popularity of their goods were

invited in to the school one lunchtime in order to allow the staff to do some Christmas shopping. As

a result of the excellent sales Kardznmore received from the school staff they decided to donate

the sum of £70.00 to the school. Thank you to Kardznmore for the very unexpected kind gesture.

http://www.kardznmore.co.uk/

AFRICAN STORYTELLER

We had a highly enjoyable visit from African storyteller Gift Amu Lagotse (Amu). He spoke to two

groups of S1 pupils telling each a different traditional African tale which involved music, dance and

audience participation. We also learned about his home village in the Volta region of Ghana and the

farming activities he had helped set up

Amu’s brand of interactive storytelling was very entertaining and proved a big hit with pupils. Many

are hoping for a return visit! There is also the possibility of the school being involved in a follow-up

Global Citizenship project.

The Art department looked at Adinkra symbols and some very nice pieces of work were produced.

WE’RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD…

Rehearsals for “The Wizard of Oz” have been underway since November and we

are making great progress in blocking the scenes, developing characters and

working as a full ensemble in the large scale choreographed set pieces. The cast

have been enthusiastic and focused in rehearsals; some of them putting in up to

6 hours in a week. We are all committed to delivering a show that can top last

year’s success with “Oliver!”. As with last year, the directorial team have been

impressed by the talent that we have available to us in the school.

Rehearsals take place after school on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, and at

lunchtime on Wednesday. “The Wizard of Oz” is a longer show than “Oliver!” so

we have managed to squeeze in a little extra time at work in the drama studio to

keep up the pace needed to produce the show that we want without having to rush at the end of the

process and put ourselves under extra pressure. There has been plenty of scope for the chorus to adopt

multiple roles: singing trees, flying monkeys, Winkies, assorted people of the Emerald City and, of course,

Munchkins. At the same time, there are far more scenes than last year that involve a small number of

characters – so the acting skills of the principals are really being put to the test and the line learning is

proving a challenge. There is an enormous amount of work being done to perfect the singing and dancing

so crucial to producing a successful musical.

The next steps will be to master the choreographed sequences, run the blocking until it’s second nature,

and dispense with the scripts so that the layers of character and movement necessary to producing

believable and engaging characters can be built up.

Beyond the drama studio there is an awful lot to do. There are a great many elements to be brought

together for the performance week in July. However, we have the experience of last year to help guide

us in terms of timing and priorities. Our set designers are fairly advanced in their plans for how the

production will look – including ideas on how to present an intimidating wizard and how to make a witch

melt! We have made a start to our sourcing of costumes, with the Home Economics department taking on

that considerable task once more. Hopefully, some characters such as Munchkins will be able to source

clothes from home that can be adapted to create their costumes. Other costumes, such as the Tinman,

will have to be bespoke. Soon, Mrs Fettes will be entering prop sourcing mode and some of the shelving in

her room will once again become the repository of the odd assortment of items needed to dress our

production effectively. Some items will have to built from scratch – oversized hourglass anyone?

We are also looking forward to the S1 Leadership day and the production of the programme for the

show. Last year, the S1s did a terrific job in putting together a programme and in doing so helped create

the buzz that made the whole experience such a great success. There is a poster to be designed too.

Very soon, we will be recruiting some senior pupils for stage management roles –and possible cameos in

the background of some of the bigger ensemble scenes. Later, we will be looking to other pupils to take

on make-up and prop duties, and parents and staff to help with the get in and get out. The help of all of

these people was invaluable last year and the show cannot be performed without the good will and good

work of many beyond the cast and directorial team.

Bridge of Don Academy’s production of “The Wizard of Oz” will be performed at the Aberdeen Arts

Centre on the evenings of 3rd, 4th and 5th of July 2013. Tickets will be priced at £12 (£10 concession)

and will be available from the school from May onwards.

WORLD BOOK DAY COMPETITION

Reading Champions at Bridge of Don Academy

Twelve readers and twelve books. Can you match the book to the reader?

It’s not as easy as you think!

A. Hue and Cry by Shirley McKay ___________________________________

B. Exit Music by Ian Rankine ______________________________________

C. Christmas at the Cupcake Café by Jenny Colgan ______________________

D. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philip Pullman __________________________

E. Life on Air by David Attenborough ________________________________

F. Mockingjay (Hunger Games 3) by Suzanne Collins _____________________

G. Aggressor by Andy McNab ______________________________________

H. The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith ___________

I. King of Ithica by Glynn Iliffe ____________________________________

J. My Life by Bill Clinton _________________________________________

K. Googlewhack Adventure by Dave Gorman ____________________________

L. Past Secrets by Cathy Kelly _____________________________________

ROGUES GALLERY…………………

Mrs Napier Mrs Anderson Mr Willox Mrs Hall

Mr Chesser Mrs Thomson Mr Paterson Mrs Redpath

Mrs McWilliam Mr Nicklas Mr Gisbey Mr Polson

YOUNG REFEREE IN THE MAKING

Congratulations to Ciaran Collie, 5F1, who has recently qualified as a referee after completing the

SFA Referee Level 1 course. Ciaran is now looking forward to putting on the referee’s uniform and

talking charge of juvenile football matches. Good luck in his new challenge and we look forward to

seeing him progress through the ranks as a referee. Who knows, maybe one day we might see Ciaran

in charge of a FIFA Champions League Final!

SCHOOL NETBALL TEAM

The girls have all worked extremely hard all year

and have to travel as far as Elgin for their

matches. The S3 team made the quarter finals of

the Scottish Schools Cup but, sadly were knocked

out. The S1-S3 team did really well in the

Aberdeen League. The best games were when they

drew 3-3 with St Margaret’s, won 12-2 against Ellon

Academy and won 10-4 against Harlaw. Well done

girls. Keep up the good work!

We would like to thank the Parent Council for the

donation for our new strips. The girls love them.

Netball runs every Thursday 3.00 -4.00 pm for all years. Anyone is welcome to join.

S3 GIRLS Y-DANCE PROJECT

Fifteen girls in S3 participated in a one day dance project workshop. During the morning the girls

learned new dance skills as well as enhancing techniques in a variety of dance styles. All the girls

worked extremely hard in the session and choreographed 2 new dance routines. In the afternoon

the girls put on a fantastic performance in front of Mrs McWilliam, Mrs Forbes, Miss Johnson, Mr

Jappy and Kat Hamilton our Active Schools Coordinator. Each and every pupil showed great

enthusiasm throughout the day and were a credit to the school. The Y Dance tutors were extremely

pleased with the girls efforts and said “They were by far the keenest group they have worked with

so far in Aberdeen.”

Well done girls!!

S3 BUSINESS CLASS

As part of the S3 Business and Enterprise course pupils have been

learning about Globalisation and the role of Fair Trade in providing

equality in international trade.

During Fair Trade Fortnight the S3 business pupils were involved in

running an enterprise event raising awareness and selling Fair Trade

products. In the run up to parent’s evening pupils worked in groups to

research Fair Trade products, make key decisions and market their

event.

Being involved in this enterprise event enabled pupils to apply the

knowledge and skills they have been developing throughout the S3

course and provided them with the opportunity to experience

running a small business project.

CHRISTMAS 2012

Carol Singing in the Staff RoomFancy Dress

S2 Winner –

Callum Esslemont

Fancy Dress

S1 Winners:

Adam Lawson

Joshua Button

Fancy Dress

S1 Winner:

Emma Duguid

Delivery Elves

Hope you had a Happy Xmas!

DRESS AS YOU PLEASE DAY

GOODBYE MR HARLAND

Pupils raised money to pay for a cake to mark Mr Harland’s retirement. It was presented to him at

the ceilidh. He can be seen here posing with S1 and S2; S3 and S4 and S5 and S6 pupils – and some

Christmas elves also snuck in!!

CLASS OF 2013

Back Row L-R: Paul Free, Joseph Boon, Dominic Munro, Chris Adams, Ryan Coyle, Jack Watt,

Drew Matheson, Campbell Grant, Jamie Lamont, Fergus Lamont, Usman Sarwar, Ben Martin,

Anthony Ede, Daniel Manclark, Jack Hillis

Third Row L-R: Rahul Chandu, Anthony Groves, Martyn MacDonald, Eunice Owusu-Afriyie,

Emma Duncan, Louise Chisholm, Megan Allan, Alice Gauld, Kirsten McIntosh, Lucy Bremner,

Jessica Gall, Vincentia Amu, Emma Gordon, Matthew McLeod, Harry Coates, Calvin Ingram

Second Row L-R: Katie Strowger, Nikki Holt, Lauren Dyce, Megan Riddell, Amy Evans, Magda Kubiak,

Steven Littlejohn, Paul Perkins, Daria Lichodziejewska, Megan Gall, Gillian Minty, Bethany Allan,

Sophie Watt

Front Row L-R: Jasmine Kennedy, Melodie Paterson, Kirsty Ross, Jade Paterson, Lizzy Simpson,

Lewis Chouman, Mr Harland, Jenna Shepherd, Calum Neil, Chloe Smyth, Shannon Ingram,

Natalie Wright, Rebecca Milne

PUZZLES

.

1. I have ten boxes which I want to pack into crates. Each crate can carry a maximum of 25kg. I

only have three crates, and the total weight of the boxes is 75kg: 15 kg, 13kg, 11kg, 10kg, 9kg,

8kg, 4kg, 2kg, 2kg, 1kg. How can I pack the boxes into the crates? How many ways are there

to do this?

Ten possible answers:

{Crate 1}, {Crate 2}, {Crate 3}

{15,10}, {13,8,4}, {11,9,2,2,1}

{15,10}, {13,11,1}, {9,8,4,2,2}

{15,10}, {11,8,4,2}, {13,9,2,1}

{15,10}, {11,9,4,1}, {13,8,2,2}

{11,10,4}, {15,8,2}, {13,9,2,1}

{11,10,4}, {15,9,1}, {13,8,2,2}

{13,8,4}, {15,9,1}, {11,10,2,2}

{13,10,2}, {15,8,2}, {11,9,4,1}

{13,10,2}, {15,9,1}, {11,8,4,2}

{13,11,1}, {15,8,2}, {10,9,4,2}

2. KenKen Puzzle

Solutions will be posted on http://bodmaths.edublogs.org from the 17th February 2013 and will be

published in the next Bridge of Don Academy newsletter. In the meantime, if you want solutions

checked send them in via “pupil express” to be checked by a member of the Maths department.

How to Play: Like Sudoku, even

though difficulty may vary from

puzzle to puzzle, the rules for playing

KenKen are fairly simple:

For this 6x6 puzzle, fill in with numbers 1-6.

Do not repeat a number in any row or

column.

The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated.

Cages with just one box should be

filled in with the target number in the

top corner.

A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.

PUZZLES

.

1. In Hungry Horace's kitchen there were three tins. Each tin contained three delicious cakes:

One night Horace crept into the kitchen, opened the three tins, and ate three of the cakes. The

surprising thing was, when Horace went back to bed, each tin still contained three cakes. How

did he do it? Were they REALLY magic cakes?

2. KenKen Puzzle

Solutions will be published in the next Bridge of Don Academy newsletter. In the meantime, if you

want solutions checked send them in via “pupil express” to be checked by a member of the Maths

department.

How to Play: Like Sudoku, even

though difficulty may vary from

puzzle to puzzle, the rules for

playing KenKen are fairly simple:

For this 7x7 puzzle, fill in with numbers 1-7.

Do not repeat a number in any row

or column.

The numbers in each heavily outlined set of squares, called cages, must combine (in any order) to produce the target number in the top corner of the cage using the mathematical operation indicated.

Cages with just one box should be

filled in with the target number in

the top corner.

A number can be repeated within a cage as long as it is not in the same row or column.